Move over, Tickle-me Elmo, there could, someday, be a new Christmas-time, have-to-have, toy sheriff in town.

Leave it to BBC R&D to come up with something that takes television to an active level that we’ve never seen before, further connecting television broadcast programming with the home environment. No other word for it. This is just plain cool. According to numerous reports on Friday, thanks to a work-in-progress BBC R&D creation using technology called Universal Control, Daleks could, someday, invade your living room and would be able to mirror the actions of their on-screen counterparts.

The prototype evil menace of the Traveling Time Lord works by receiving an internet signal transmitted from the TV to the toy Dalek near it – enabling it to move. The initial prototype, which is approximately 12″ tall, has been developed as an idea that will pave the way for other characters to be transferred from screen into the home.

According to project director, Adrian Woolard, and creator, Andrey Bonney, the toy Daleks could, someday, be programmed with a code in their remote control system that, when activated, would send them into designated actions. The same data would then embedded in a code in the video of a like-sequence from a Doctor Who episode.

In the future, the required written code would accompany the television program script and would be embedded during a particular production.

While the toy Daleks are still in their early, early experimental stage and a long way from reality, I have to have one so, please hurry, BBC R&D. I may have found what would get me out on Black Friday someday. Thanks, BBC….I think.

Photo Credit: Rory Cellan-Jones